How to proceed with a will? Please share experiences and tips!

  • Erstellt am 2025-04-11 10:22:53

HilfeHilfe

2025-04-11 10:22:53
  • #1
Hello,

our property will be paid off in a few years, we recently had a bereavement in the family and are dealing with the topic of inheritance.
We (a married couple without a prenuptial agreement) want a [Berliner (?) Testament] where we appoint each other as heirs and only after our deaths do the children inherit.
What is the best way to proceed? Are there providers where you can have it notarized or do you do something like this yourself?

We don't want to spend 4000 € on this now.

Best regards
 

nordanney

2025-04-11 11:09:31
  • #2
You do that yourself. Find a template online (available on many legal websites). But please note: the children still have the compulsory portion and can easily sue for it.
 

houser

2025-04-11 11:20:17
  • #3
You can also convince the children with an advance gift roughly equivalent to the compulsory portion to sign a waiver of the compulsory portion in return, then it is arranged in advance. My parents had it notarized in this way.
 

Tolentino

2025-04-11 11:39:14
  • #4
Can also be done by hand (but then it must be handwritten personally and also be legible). Then it is best to file it with the probate court. I would think about it, because from a tax law perspective it is usually not very sensible. You only do that if you have to expect that at least one child will do things like applying for the compulsory auction of the house, etc. Then it is better to transfer the share beforehand, but with usufruct or something like that.
 

ypg

2025-04-11 21:14:10
  • #5
What advantage does that have? What if there are 3-4 children? Where do you generate these contributions from if you could not save anything over time because, for example, the children’s educations were paid for and near retirement the only things saved are the caravan and a new car? There are family notaries. The amount of their fee depends on what you have to secure. We are in the same dilemma: a handwritten Berlin will, which is not notarized, is sleeping in the closet with us. According to Google, etc., it should have all the required characteristics. But if you keep googling and looking for errors where some wills fail, then I wonder if we also missed something. At the moment, several situations are hitting us anyway that are neither comprehensible, nor understandable, nor actually contestable yet, but still impose some disadvantages on us. My parents currently have “general power of attorney”, as do we. Therefore, the four of us will probably go to the notary and make everything legally binding. Also the will.
 

hanghaus2023

2025-04-12 10:59:20
  • #6
What is the value of the property? A fee of 4000 euros is quite a lot. In my opinion, one should first consult the tax advisor.
 
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